Some of the boxers have called Saturday's "Day of Reckoning" card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the greatest card of all-time. It's fascinating to have so many of the best heavyweights on the same card, but let's be honest here: It's not the greatest card ever and it's not even close.
For all the grief he's gotten over the years, the legendary promoter Don King put on dozens of fight cards deeper and better than this one, with Hall of Famers galore in competitive matches.
Give the Saudis credit: They're using their financial resources to get the matches the public wants to see made. They've managed to get Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk to meet on Feb. 17 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in a battle for the undisputed heavyweight title. They'll put on Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua in a compelling battle in March if Wilder defeats Joseph Parker and Joshua bests Otto Wallin on Saturday.
The Saudis have the money, the infrastructure and the want-to to replace Las Vegas as the nominal boxing capitol of the world.
This "Day of Reckoning" card which features a lot of the top heavyweights, is not it, though. It's a collection of mismatches that we might ordinarily decry. But because the Saudis are spending so much and are trying to make these huge bouts, we're cutting them a break.
But check out the size of the favorites per DraftKings sports book in some of these:
• Frank Sanchez is -1600 to defeat Junior Fa, who is +900.
• Filip Hrgovic is -5000 to best Mark de Mori, who is +1700.
• Arslanbek Makhmudov is -1100 to beat Agit Kabayel, who is +650.
• Daniel Dubois is the smallest favorite on the card at -265 over Jarrell Miller, who is +210.
• Wilder is -650 to defeat Parker, who is +450.
• Joshua is -360 to top Wallin, who is +270.
No card can be considered the best ever when the odds are so wide in virtually every match.
If you were to bet $100 on each of those six underdogs to win on Saturday, you'd risk $600 for the possibility of making a profit of $4,180.
That's not going to happen, of course, and the betting opportunities are tight.
Here are my three positions:
• I like Wilder to win by KO at -400. Wilder is 43-2-1 with 42 knockouts, but if you take the 0-2-1 mark against Fury away, he's 43-0 with 42 KOs. Only Bermane Stiverne, of all people, managed to make it the distance with Wilder, and Wilder won the rematch by first-round KO.
Parker is a solid fighter, but he's a long ways from his top and since an 11th-round KO loss to Joe Joyce in 2022 has faced a very light schedule. He defeated Jack Massey, Faiga Opelu and Simon Kean since the Joyce fight. He's never seen anything like Wilder, either.
Parker might outbox Wilder for a while, but it's hard to imagine he's going to be able to shut down Wilder's power for a full 36 minutes. It only takes one shot for Wilder to win, so I'll lay two units on Wilder at -400 to win by knockout. That would mean an $800 profit if I cash.
• I'll lay the -265 and take Dubois to defeat Miller. Dubois isn't the future star I thought he'd become, and he's got a questionable chin, but he hits hard and he's a gamer. Miller is 26-0-1 but is best known as one of boxing's most notorious PED cheaters.
Dubois is more athletic, hits harder, and represents a better level of opposition than Miller has seen.
I'll bet one unit on Dubois to win at -260 and hope to cash for a $100 profit.
• I'll take the Hrgovic-de Mori fight to go over 2.5 rounds at -105. I believe Hrgovic will finish this one, but Hrgovic isn't one to rush out of the corner. It's going to take him time to get into a rhythm and start to break down de Mori, and at close to even money, it's not that huge of a risk.
I'll lay one unit on Hrgovic-de Mori to go over 2.5 rounds at -105 with the hope of a $100 profit.